Soil and Groundwater PreCharacterization and Management
Presented By:
Charles D. Brink, LEP
TOPICS TO COVER
■ Importance of Pre-Characterization
■ Project Planning
■ Sampling Procedures
■ Sample Logging
■ Soil Management
■ Groundwater Management
■ Questions
Importance of Pre-Characterization
Free Fill Anyone????
Importance of Pre-Characterization
■ Why conduct pre-characterization sampling?
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Encounter contaminated environmental media during work
Delays to project
Increased project costs
Mismanagement of wastes that could be potentially hazardous
Company liability
Protection of employees and contractors
Importance of Pre-Characterization
■ Encountering Contaminated Environmental
Media
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What is this stuff?
What’s the first step?
Who is responsible?
How bad is it?
Is contractor able to handle the material?
Are the workers in any danger?
Are there any immediate hazards?
Importance of Pre-Characterization
You Never Know what you may Find
Importance of Pre-Characterization
You Never Know what you may Find
Importance of Pre-Characterization
You Never Know what you may Find
Importance of Pre-Characterization
You Never Know what you may Find
Importance of Pre-Characterization
■ Delays to Project
– Need to test the material
» Can take several days to receive results
– Finding a “home” for the material
» Landfill
» Disposal facility
» Re-use?
– Completing paperwork
– Work out change orders with contractor
» Is a new contractor needed?
– Will the responsible party want to conduct the excavations
» Their timetable will differ than yours
Importance of Pre-Characterization
■ Increased Project Costs
– Unbudgeted disposal costs
» Soil disposal
» Groundwater disposal
– Need to bring in additional clean fill
– Additional contractor time
» Idling time
» Additional equipment
» New Contractor to handle environmental media
Importance of Pre-Characterization
■ Mismanagement of Waste
– What is the environmental media classified as
» Unregulated
» State regulated
» Hazardous
» TSCA waste
» Special waste
– Need understand what the waste is and manage it
appropriately
– Don’t rely solely on the contractor
» Understand where the material is going and what that
means
Importance of Pre-Characterization
■ Company Liability
– Where did the material end up at
– Was it appropriately disposed of
– Are there any long term liabilities with the disposal location
Importance of Pre-Characterization
■ Protection of Employees and Contractors
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Are there any health hazards
If so, have they properly addressed
What about the general public
Odor control
Size of work area
Project Planning
■ The Tools of Successful Project Planning
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Order and review environmental database report
Walk the project area
Identify potential problem sites
Selection of sampling locations
Selection of a good environmental laboratory
Budget enough time to complete the planning stage
Identify potential disposal options
Project Planning
■ Order and Review Environmental Database
Reports
– These reports will provide you with important information
within your project area
» Spills
» USTs
» ASTs
» Hazardous waste generators
– Will also provide historical information
» Identify former businesses
» Former property uses
– One report can even be ordered for a several mile long project
– A preliminary report can be typically generated in a few hours
Project Planning
■ Walk the Project Area
– This is the most important part of successful Project Planning
– Try to actually walk the area
» It’s healthy!!!
» Window surveys are too quick
» Are distracted with driving
– Bring your environmental personnel/consultant with you
– Make note of geological features
» Streams
» Rock outcrops
Project Planning
■ Identify Potential Problem Sites
– These are properties that are likely to have an environmental
condition
» Gas stations
» Industrial facilities
» Dry cleaners
» Furniture repair/refinishing businesses
» Auto body shops, garages
– Pay close attention of remodeled locations
– Make sure to have reviewed your data base report ahead of
time
– Also look for features that seem out of place
» Drums
» Soil piles
Project Planning
■ Selection of Sampling Locations
– Best time to complete this task is during project walk through
– Establish a sampling spacing strategy ahead of time
» 1,000 – 500 feet apart in rural areas
» 500 – 250 feet apart in residential areas
» 250 – 100 feet apart in urban areas
» <100 feet apart on areas of concern
– Amount of sampling needed may also depend on size of
excavation and the facility you may be taking the soil to
» Larger excavations will generate more soil
» Regulatory consideration should also be made
– Also note paved vs. non-paved locations
» Can the proposed line be moved into a non-paved location?
Project Planning
TP-8
TP-7
TP-6
TP-4
TP-5
Project Planning
■ Selection of a Good Environmental Laboratory
Cheapest is NOT always the best
Can they meet your time frames
Customer Service
Any “hidden” costs
» Surcharges for different deliverables
» Surcharges for QA/QC data packages
– Are they certified for your state
– Ask for a sample report ahead of time
» Easy to read?
» Deliverable formats?
– Data Quality
» Big decisions will be made with this data
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Project Planning
■ Budget Enough Time to Complete the Planning
Stage
– Don’t wait until the last minute
– Estimated times to complete activities
» Database report: 1-3 days
» Walkthrough schedule/complete: 1-3 days
» Sampling: ~ 6-10 sampling locations per day
» Analysis: 5-7 days
» Management coordination: 2-5 days
– You will want to start Project Planning at least a month before
you start the actually work.
– Work can be done is stages if necessary for larger projects
Project Planning
■ Identify Potential Disposal Options
– Most states operate on a tiered basis for determining
contamination thresholds in soil
– For example, Connecticut has the following tiers
» Natural
» Polluted
» Contaminated
– Determine what tiers your state has
» Important: Regulatory tiers are not always the same as
disposal tiers
– Identify facilities/options that can take the soil once generated
» Determines what parameters need to be tested for
» Also determined how many samples you need to have per
volume of soil generated (samples/yards)
Project Planning
■ Identify Potential Disposal Options
– If dewatering is going to be required, it will need to properly
managed as well
» Vacuum extraction
» Discharge permits
» Staging areas for equipment
Sampling Procedures
■ Sampling for Success
– Collection of samples
– Having the right tools for the job
– Collect enough samples to adequately characterize the project
area
– Selection of sampling parameters
– When to collect a groundwater sample
Sampling Procedures
■ Collection of Samples
– The collection strategy may be modified to fit any regulatory
needs that your particular state may have
– Samples are typically collected at each selected location that
was marked out during the project walk through
– Samples are collected at one foot intervals until the maximum
depth is reached
» Screen the samples for volatiles
» Establish a soil profile
– Collection of a composite sample from entire profile
– Collection of a grab samples from highest PID interval
Sampling Procedures
■ Having the Right Tools for the Job
– Soil samples can be collected by various methods
» Hand auger
» Backhoe
» Vacuum extraction
» Drilling
– Each method has advantages and disadvantages
» Cost
» Time
» Safety
– Choosing the sampling method will be dependant on several
factors
» Paved vs. unpaved
» Are there underground utilities in the area
Sampling Procedures
■ Having the Right Tools for the Job
– Choosing the best sampling method will be dependant on
multiple factors
» Paved vs. unpaved
» Are there lines already in the area
» City/town requirements
» Schedule
» What crews are available
» High traffic area
Sampling Procedures
■ Collect Enough Samples to Adequately
Characterize the Project Area
– As part of the planning process you should have an idea on the
number of samples that will be collected
– Make sure that the volume of soil that the samples represent
is enough for your “best case” disposal option
» If you soil is impacted, it will generally fall into this tier
– Having the data ahead of time will help immensely when the
soil is being generated
– If your sample result identify a “hot spot” of contamination,
you may want to remobilize to better define the area
» Need to weight disposal costs vs cost/time to collect
additional samples
Sampling Procedures
■ Selection of Sampling Parameters
– As part of the planning process facilities were identified that
could take the soil
» What are their profile requirements?
» Do some parameters require more samples than others?
– If you don’t have a facility in mind typically sampling for the
following parameters should be sufficient enough to complete
a soil profile
» Volatile organic hydrocarbons
» Semi-volatile hydrocarbons
» Total petroleum hydrocarbons
» PCBs
» Total RCRA metals, leachable lead
» Flashpoint, pH, reactivity
Sampling Procedures
■ When to Collect a Groundwater Sample
– When standing water is noted within your sampling location
» How much water are we looking at?
– The main question to ask, will the water interfere with
construction
» If yes then sample
» If no then don’t
– Like soil samples, groundwater samples can be collected by
several methods depending on how the sampling location is
being advanced
» Bailer
» Peristaltic pump
» By hand
» Installation of a temporary monitoring well?
Sampling Procedures
■ When to Collect a Groundwater Sample
– If you don’t have a facility in mind typically sampling for the
following parameters should be sufficient enough to complete
a groundwater profile
» Volatile organic hydrocarbons
» Total petroleum hydrocarbons
» PCBs
» Total RCRA metals
» pH
– During the collection of the groundwater sample, the sample
will likely contained suspended sediments, which is referred to
as turbidity
– If the sample is not visually clear (turbid) then collect an
additional sample for dissolved RCRA metals
Sample Logging
■ The Value of Establishing a Good Soil Profile
– A good sampling log will provide a detailed description of the
conditions that will be encountered during the trenching work
– What types of information does a good soil profile log provide?
» Types of soils that will be encountered
» Will bedrock be encountered, if so at what depth
» Will be rock be easy or difficult to remove
» Will groundwater be encountered
– This information can be provided to the contractor to assist
with bidding the project
Sample Logging
Sample Logging
Soil Management
■ Management of Excavated Soil
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Classification of soils
Evaluation of disposal options
Obtain approvals from selected disposal facilities
Preparation of a Soil Management Plan
Soil Management
■ Classification of Soils
– Analytical results from sampling are received and reviewed
– Establish your soil “tiers” based on contamination
concentrations identified from the collected samples
» The tiers categories should be based on both regulatory
requirements AND disposal options
– Mapping of the soil tiers can prove very useful
» Can provide to contractor to stream line removal and assist
with bidding process
» Helps with the overall management of the soil
– Can the soil be reused
» Either at this or maybe other projects
Soil Management
■ Evaluation of Disposal Options
– This is a VERY important step that is sometimes overlooked or
just simply ignored because other options are “easier” (leaving
it up to the contractor)
– You need to understand the volumes that will be generated
under each tier
– The cost for trucking should be considered
– Try to avoid “double handling” the material
– Understand the disposal facility’s schedule
– Explore all available options
» Reuse of material at current or future projects can be a
huge cost savings
Soil Management
■ Obtain Approvals from Selected Disposal
Facilities
– Soil has been classified and volume amounts properly
estimated
– Complete facility required paperwork
– Important: the Generator (you) is typically responsible for
determining if the soil is appropriate for disposal at the facility.
– Make sure the you understand the facilities schedule and that
they have capacity for your soil
Soil Management
■ Preparation of a Soil Management Plan
– A Soil Management Plan (SMP) is prepared to document the
selected soil management procedures for the project
– The plan is submitted to the contractor so that everyone is on
the same page on what is happening to the soil from the
project
– An SMP is extremely helpful when conducting larger projects
Groundwater Management
■ Management of Groundwater
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Review of analytical data
Evaluation of groundwater management options
Obtain necessary approvals
Preparation of a Management Plan?
Groundwater Management
■ Review of Analytical Data
– Analytical results from sampling are received and reviewed
– Was LNAPL present?
– Evaluation of total vs. dissolved metals
Groundwater Management
■ Evaluation of Groundwater Management Options
– Removal for disposal
» Vacuum extraction
» Pumping into frac tank for temporary storage
– Discharge to sanitary sewer
» Is sanitary even available?
» Will likely require some type of “treatment” system
– Discharge to surfacewater
» Will likely require additional treatment vs. a sanitary
discharge
Groundwater Management
■ Obtain Necessary Approvals
– Discharges to sanitary sewer may require POTW approval and
a permit from regulatory agency
» Sampling during discharge may be required
» Treatment requirements may vary
» Costs for discharge may vary
– Cost per gallon
– Connection fees
– Discharges to surface water may require regulatory approvals
from multiple agencies
» Sampling during discharge may be required
» More stringent treatment requirements
Groundwater Management
■ Preparation of Management Plan?
– Unlike soil management options, groundwater management
options will be more limited and can be easily predicted
– Could incorporate into the SMP, but a specific plan will
typically not be necessary
– Need to stay on top of permit requirements
Summary
■ Benefits of Implementing a Management
Strategy
– Cost Savings
» Cost for disposal can account for more than 30% of total
project costs
– Time Savings
– Prevent the mismanagement of wastes
– Clearer information during the bidding process
– Protection of worker safety
Tighe & Bond
Questions ?